Torn end grain

[jwavem]

I know this has been addressed before, some how I just can't get it right.
I'm turning wet Cherry natural edge bowls and can't stop tearing the end grain. I am using a 1/2 inch bowl gouge with a finger nail grind. Yes it's sharp and honed. I've tried cutting up hill and down. I have used the gouge as a shear scraper. I have tried these techniques after saturating the wood with Deft thinned 50/50 with laquer thinner and letting it dry. HELP.
jwavem :mad:

 

[MichaelMouse]

Cherry can be somewhat of a pain in this regard, because the things we do to minimize tearout can bruise it, which is tougher to get out than the tearing.

I guess it's important to know what part of the turning is tearing. Is it some of the unsupported wood on the "wings", or is it in the traditional location - at the transition from nearly vertical to horizontal. If it's on the wings, only thing I know to help other than good gouge position and good gouge would be a jam ring to firm up the wings against chatter and tearing. It's applied from the rear, wedged up to act as if your bowl was inside a bowl. PITA, but it works.

If it's at the transition, I generally let the bevel come off the wood - no bruises - and transition to a shear scrape angle. It wants minimum tool overhang and it's a hip-swinging proposition, because the lateral force on the gouge will take it away if you try to finger and wrist it. Couple pictures - oddly enough, on green cherry, to illustrate.

The wing cuts are pretty aggressive, as you can see by the steps I left in the picture. The gouge has slipped a bit, since I took the picture one-handed, but the bevel should be rolled back on the surface rather than pulled slightly away. I'm using the pull of the wood across the face of the gouge , which is at an angle \ to the vertical, to stabililize the wing. You can see the scraping fuzz.

Going across, the bevel is really rubbing very little perpendicular to the edge, rather it's referenced along it. The cut/scrape is very shallow, and as you can see by the shaving twist, moves pretty quickly across the bottom. This is a fairly shallow bowl, but the principle's the same regardless.

 

[Sean Troy]

If you have small amounts of tear out left after trying all other methods to get rid of it. Try sanding by dipping your sandpaper in mineral oil, walnut oil and keep sanding. The sandpaper will clog quickly so you need a freash side often. by the time the sanding is back to dry, your tear out should be gone.

 

[jwavem]

Thanks Michael

I'll give your technique a try. My problen is with the transition end grain. I am tearing the end grain on the outside before hollowing. On the inside I finish with the Jamieson Tool (1/2 moon scraper) nice thin shaveings but torn end grain.

 

[Natastic Emerson]

Gah.

I've never had any luck scraping green wood. You'll always get the fuzzzz.
It is fun though. You get the shavings going and you have this constant stream of warm, thin ribbons. Pretty cool, but gets you nowhere.
Thus, I have retired my scrapers from green wood. And have been very happy since then.

 

[MichaelMouse]

I'll give your technique a try. My problen is with the transition end grain. I am tearing the end grain on the outside before hollowing. On the inside I finish with the Jamieson Tool (1/2 moon scraper) nice thin shaveings but torn end grain.

Outside? Sorry, missed that. Answer is still in the gouge angles, however. Do you have something in a "continental" pattern, like the one in the pictures? Does a great job limiting pickup on the edges if you seat it firmly on the rest at a low sweep angle, and rotate it where the absolute center (or even slightly under the center) of the piece is the last point of contact with the gouge. Can't pick up what you aren't under. In the picture, which is old, and uncorrected for color, you can see the pickup edge is chipped where I hogged to just get wood out of the way, but is feathered and almost folded back where I started my first peel. Two passes on the surface with sandpaper will release these fuzzies.

Second tactic which works well here, and with things like squares is based on not being able to pick up what isn't there. Decide where you want your edge to be, then take a spokeshave , or if you're good enough with one, a sharp knife, and chamfer down to the limit line. You won't get fuzzies even with unstable gouges, but you do have to be careful not to overcut the chamfer, or you'll tear it again.